Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Entwood]

daft question ... has the retro fitted ciggy lighter been put in the "wrong" way round ?? For a light it won't matter s +ve/-ve matter not  ... but your charger will have a solid state step down transformer in it, so may well short out if connected "wrongly"

I would do a bit if checking with a meter to check polarity  

[amba]

Thanks entwood.

I think you may have solved my problem ???the lead with the retro ciggy lighter had a plug on the end which i decided to cut of revealing a red and black wire.....if my memeory is correct i connected the red wire to the brown wire on the courtesy light plug...then connected the black lead on ciggy wire to the black lead on the light wire....will have a closer look again in the morning but your theory does sound logical.....would it be possible for vauxhall to have the brown lead as earth and the black lead as live as from earlier advise it appears that the glove box loght has a permenant live and a switched earth so if that is the case should i connect the red ciggy wire to the live feed from the light and pick up a body work earth?

Andrew

[CaptainZok]

Check the polarity of the socket, if it's reverse polarity and the chargers got a diode fitted to prevent reverse connection it will blow the fuse every time.

[TheBoy]

But the proper ciggy lighters should be wired correctly

[TheBoy]

Or just charge your phone at home

[amba]

Thinking for all the trouble might be worth buying a spare phone battery,just does seem strange though why it works in one car and not another...will have a look at the polarity issue in morning and see where that goes...still unsure why it won,t even light charger tell tale light in standard ciggy socket.
Just for info how would i check which feed from the retro socket has the live assuming it isn,t as simple as red/live..black /earth?

[Andy B]

.....would it be possible for vauxhall to have the brown lead as earth and the black lead as live as from earlier advise it appears that the glove box loght has a permenant live and a switched earth so if that is the case should i connect the red ciggy wire to the live feed from the light and pick up a body work earth?

Andrew

That's it. Vauxhall's earth/ground/zero volts/whatever you want to call it is normally brown, lives can be red or can be black for ignition live - look at your courtesy lamp.

[Kevin Wood]

Could be that someone has had the main lighter socket out at some point and connected it up wrongly too. Or that once the charger had been plugged into a reversed socket it had blown the internal electronics and it's now shorted internally anyway, so it'll blow the fuse regardless.

Kevin

[Marks DTM Calib]

Could be that someone has had the main lighter socket out at some point and connected it up wrongly too. Or that once the charger had been plugged into a reversed socket it had blown the internal electronics and it's now shorted internally anyway, so it'll blow the fuse regardless.

Kevin

Hence the test I requested including the polarity check......

[Kevin Wood]

Could be that someone has had the main lighter socket out at some point and connected it up wrongly too. Or that once the charger had been plugged into a reversed socket it had blown the internal electronics and it's now shorted internally anyway, so it'll blow the fuse regardless.

Kevin

Hence the test I requested including the polarity check......

Yes, which didn't show a problem, oddly, and the problem existed before the socket was fitted to the glovebox light  :-/

Worth double checking the polarity of the main lighter socket in the car?

Kevin

[amba]

Thanks for advise guys..how do i check the polarity??I have not had time today to check if the glove box wiring is brown/eart   black /live..as was suggested,so will have a look in morning..will put a test light on both wires on the VX plug from glove box light and try and work out current,as am suspecting the advise of earlier.
Strange thing is also neither fag lighter will stay in when pushed so expect fault with those..just as well i dont smoke???but am now thinking that is why the VX ciggy lighter was also blowing fuse,but as light not polarity sensitive would not stop that from working..so how do i check their polarity  ??

[CaptainZok]

Thanks for advise guys..how do i check the polarity??I have not had time today to check if the glove box wiring is brown/eart   black /live..as was suggested,so will have a look in morning..will put a test light on both wires on the VX plug from glove box light and try and work out current,as am suspecting the advise of earlier.
Strange thing is also neither fag lighter will stay in when pushed so expect fault with those..just as well i dont smoke???but am now thinking that is why the VX ciggy lighter was also blowing fuse,but as light not polarity sensitive would not stop that from working..so how do i check their polarity  ??
 

With a test lamp go from centre of cig lighter to a known body earth, if polarity is correct it will light.
If it doesn't try edge connection of cig lighter to body earth, if it lights polarity of cig lighter is reversed.

[amba]

Thanks CaptainZok..have got a test lamp probe so will have a good look in morning and post results for info.assuking the original VX ciggy lighter at back and front are incorrectly wired which could be the case as neither lighter works and phone charger blows fuse..it is only hand held light which works..but think Entwood has pointed me straight on why that is..how do i correctly rewire the VX ciggy sockets as thought they had factory plug in them?

[CaptainZok]

I think its possible to connect the cig lighter plug the wrong way round and reverse polarity.

[Entwood]

amba ... a small, cheap multi-meter is invaluable for checking polarity and/or circuit continuity, as well as many other things .. they are now so cheap no-one should be without one ...

eg ..

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=37279&doy=8m11

less than £6 !!!